Reconciling Or Not
by Still Waters
Summary: Down the road, Barney and Robin consider reconciling. But something stands in the way. Or rather, someone. My contribution for the Anniversary Ficathon suggested by BeneathTheUmbrella


The Ellie

Barney quietly let himself into his apartement. He realized he needn't have bothered when he saw his 13 year old daughter sitting on the chair. She had turned it to face the door and wa sitting with her arms folded across her chest, glaring at him.

"Where have you been?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"On a date."

"With who?"

"A woman."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I figured that."

"I could date a man if I wanted to," he replied defensively."

"I'm sure you could, but you don't really want to, do you?"

"What are you still doing up?' he questioned, removing his jacket and tie before moving into the kitchen. He poured himself a drink.

"What's her name?"

"I'm pretty sure you should be in bed," he told her, looking at his watch. "In fact, I know you should be in bed."

"Dad."

"Hmm?" he asked, raising his brow.

"Her name. What is it?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It's her, isn't it? The bird woman."

"Bird woman?"

Ellie continued to glare.

Finally, he sighed, "If you mean Robin, yes. I was out on a date with Robin."

"Why?"

"Because she's hot. Duh."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "She's already broken your heart, Dad. More than once. Right?"

He shrugged.

"How many times?"

"As many as I broke hers," he finally responded,

"I don't want to see you hurt again, Daddy."

He sighed and sat down in front of her. "I know, baby girl, and I appreciate that. We love each other. Always have. It's just always been a matter of timing. One or the other of us just wasn't in the right place in our life to make it work. We've talked about it and we both think we're there now."

"And if you're not?"

"That's a chance we're willing to take," he told her.

She narrowed here eyes. "How long have you two been dating?"

"Oh, about twenty five years, off and on."

"This time."

"A few months."

"Were you planning to tell me?"

"Of course. Eventually."

"When?"

"Look, Ellie. I know you don't like her very much and that it would upset you, so we were giving it a little time to make sure that we might work before we faced that battle."

She looked hurt. "I want you to be happy, Dad. If she makes you happy, I'm not going to stand in your way. I'll do my best to get along with her."

Throwing her arms around his neck, she hugged him tight.

"Thanks, Ellie. All I'm asking is that you try. I just know that the two of you will get along great," he answered, returning her embrace.

"I'd better get to bed," she told him, pulling away. "It's past my bedtime, you know." Grinning, she jumped up and ran back to her room.

Barney watched her go, contemplating. When she had closed her door, he pulled out his phone and fired off a text.

 **We're busted. She knows.**

It was only a matter of moments until he received a reply.

 **And?**

 **Says she's okay w/it**

 **You buying?**

 **Nope**

 **Guess we'll see**

After saying their goodnights, he deleted the conversation and tucked the phone away.

XXXXXXXXXX

Over the next couple of weeks, Robin started dropping by the Stinson apartment to meet Barney before they would go out. Ellie would sit quietly in a chair or on the couch, eyes wide, only speaking when spoken to.

One evening, the couple had decided to meet at a restaurant. While she was waiting for Barney to arrive, her phone buzzed. She checked the caller ID, a little surprised.

She answered. "Hey, Ellie."

"Hey, Robin," she said brightly. "You and Dad having a good time?"

"I'm still waiting for him right now. Did you need to talk to him?"

"No. Actually, I had a question for you. When you were over here the other night, did you happen to see my red and black sweater?"

"The one with the big silver buttons? I don't think so."

"Darn," she sighed. "It's got to be here somewhere. I guess I'll just keep looking."

"We can help you look for it later," Robin promised.

"That's okay. I'm sure I'll find it." She paused a moment. "Please don't tell my Dad I called. He's always getting on to me for losing things and I'd rather he not know I misplaced it."

"You got it," the older woman promised.

"Thanks. Later."

Barney arrived and the two enjoyed dinner and a show, then a quick stop at Robin's place. As they were making their way towards her bedroom, her phone rang.

"Hi, Lily," she answered, trying not to giggle as Barney's tongue traced a line down her chest and started exploring her cleavage.

"Robin. Is Barney there with you?" the red head asked, her voice anxious.

Robin straightened, pushing him back. "Yes. He's here. What's wrong?"

He looked at her, confused, as she put the phone on speaker.

"Ellie just called. She said she's been trying to call him, but he's not answering."

He made a dive for the jacket he had already shed and pulled out his phone.

"Ringer's off," he commented, puzzled, showing Robin the number of missed calls, all from his daughter.

"Did she say what was wrong?" Robin asked as Barney quickly dialed.

"No, she just sounded scared and asked if I had heard from her Dad. I told her I'd come over, but I thought I'd try to get ahold of him first."

"We're closer. We'll go," she replied, buttoning her shirt back up and slipping back into her shoes. "We'll let you know." She ended the call, holding Barney's jacket for him as he waited, phone pressed to his ear.

"Ellie!" he called when she answered. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine, Daddy," she sniffled, "Just scared. Are you going to be home soon?"

"I'm on my way, sweetheart. What happened? Did you call the police?

"No police," she told him. "I just thought I heard noises at the door. There's noone there, but I'm still a little scared."

"Okay. We'll be there soon," he told her. "You want me to stay on the phone?"

"Please."

He followed Robin as she locked up and hailed a cab, giving Barney's address and telling the driver it was urgent. Barney kept the phone to his ear, listening to Ellie and murmuring the occasional response. He leaned close so that Robin could hear and gave her a quick summary of the situation.

When the elevator opened on his floor, he dashed down the hall, keys in hand calling her name as he pushsed the door opened. Ellie jumped up from the chair she had been huddled in and threw herself in her father's arms. He reassured her gently as he carried her to the couch. Robin pulled his keys from the door and pushed it closed before joining the others. She held out a box of tissue and Barney took a few, drying the tears on the girl's face.

He continued talking softly to her, rubbing her back as her sobs quieted to shudders, then hiccups.

"What happened?" he asked.

She told him about hearing noises at the door and being afraid that someone was trying to get in.

"I tried to call you, but you didn't answer," she accused.

"Sorry. For some reason, it was set to silent," he told her.

"Oh." She looked to Robin, her eyes wide, but didn't say anything.

"Why didn't you call Robin? You knew we were together?"

"Um. I figured that I was probably overreacting, right, Robin? I looked outside and didn't see anything, so I probably shouldn't bother you," she commented softly.

"You're never a bother," her father assured her. "You should have called."

She fixed her gaze on Robin and took a deep breath. "I did."

"You did what?"

"Called Robin," she answered.

"You did?" He looked at Robin. "She called you?"

"No."

"Yes, I did," Ellie countered, her tone becoming angry. "You can check her call records."

"Yeah, she did call," Robin started.

"See, she's changing her story."

"She called, but not about being scared or any intruder or anything. She called about a sweater."

"Why would I call about a sweater when someone was trying to break in?" Ellie shot back, looking to her father.

"You didn't say anything about an intruder. You said that you had misplaced your sweater and not to tell your dad because he would be mad."

"Why would I be mad about her losing a sweater?" Barney asked. "She's a teenager. She's always misplacing clothes."

"She probably turned your phone off, too," the girl accused. "She didn't want me interrupting your date. In fact, she doesn't want me interrupting your relationship."

"What are you talking about?" Robin asked.

"Boarding school."

"Boarding school?" Robin and Barney asked in unison.

"The boarding school she wants to send me to."

"I never said anything about boarding school!" Robin protested.

"She did, Daddy. She told me that she doesn't like kids and that she'd convince you to send me away to some fancy boarding school so that she could have you all to herself." Ellie was crying again, anger making her voice quiver. "I told you I'd try, Daddy, and I have. I tried to get along with her, but she hates me and wants me out of the picture."

"That's so not true, Barney."

"So, now I'm a liar!" She turned to her dad. "You know she never liked kids."

"That's not entirely true."

Barney was looking at her thoughtfully.

"Who are you going to believe, Daddy. Your own daughter or the woman who's hurt you time and time again?"

She glared at Robin, her expression a mix of triumph and fear.

Robin sighed. "She's right."

"What?" the other two asked.

"She's right. This isn't working. You know I never wanted kids. I thought that maybe I could deal with yours if I had to to be with you, but I can't. I can't deal with having another person in the relationship. I've never been good with sharing. I think we should probably just end it now before we get in any deeper and it hurts more."

She stood up, and gathered her things.

"Robin," Barney protested. He started to stand, but Ellie snuggled close.

"Good-bye, Barney. As always, it's been a wild ride," she told him sadly, blowing a kiss. "Don't get up. I'll let myself out."

After she did, Ellie kissed his cheek. "It's for the best, Dad. End it now before she hurts you again."

"I suppose," he admitted, kissing the top of her head.

"Besides, you've always got me," she reassured him.

"Yeah, I do, baby girl. I've always got you."

After a long talk, he tucked her into bed before getting himself ready for bed. He checked to make sure she was asleep, then pulled out his phone.

 **You okay?**

 **Fine. That was intense. She ok?**

 **Sleeping.**

 **Is it a go?**

 **The Ellie is a go.**

 **Starting?**

 **First thing in the am**

 **Good luck.**

 **Miss you.**

 **Ditto.**

Grinning, he deleted the conversation and slid down in the bed, knowing he would be dreaming about the interrupted evening.

XXXXXXXXXX

It took almost 2 weeks before Robin received a call from Ellie.

"We seriously need to talk."

"About what?"

"You and my dad."

"I haven't seen or spoken to your dad since that night in your apartment."

"I know. That's what we need to talk about. As soon as possible. Can you please meet me?"

"I don't know, Ellie. I'm really busy."

"Please, Robin? It's really important."

Robin sighed. "Where and when?"

"How about the bistro on the corner just down the street? I think I can sneak out and be there in about 10 minutes and then we should have a few minutes to talk."

"Wait a minute. Why do you have to sneak out?"

"That's exactly what we need to talk about," Ellie told her.

"Okay." Her confusion was clear in the word. "I guess I'll see you in a few."

When Robin entered the bistro, she saw Ellie waiting impatiently in a booth and slid in opposite her.

"What's this all about?" she asked.

"You've got to make up with my dad," the girl replied.

"You're the reason we're not together, Ellie. It's what you wanted, right?"

"Yeah, I did. Or I thought that I did. But now, his whole life is about me."

"What do you mean?"

"He walks me to school in the morning and walks me home after. If I have drama or something after school, he's there sitting and watching."

Robin had to fight off a smile.

"We have dinner to gether every night. I have to do my homework at the kitchen table while he's working or fixing dinner. If I say I need to run to the store for something, he goes with me. The same if I want to hang out with my friends. He comes along to chaperone. Robin, he's driving me nuts."

"What about dating? Or going out with the guys? I know Ted and Marshall were talking the other night about hitting a club or something."

"Yeah. They came by to pick him up. He refused to go."

"Really?"

"Told them that he'd rather spend his time with me. As for dating, there was this really hot looking bimbo at the coffee shop the other day who was totally hitting on him. Gave him her number and everything. When I asked if he was going to call her, he laughed and shook his head. He told me that I was the most important thing in his life and he was going to spend every moment possible with me."

"How sweet," Robin commented.

"How annoying, you mean," Ellie countered. "I love my dad, but I do have a life apart from him. I need a little breathing room."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Start dating him again."

"I don't know if he would want to try again. Or if I would. That whole getting hurt thing, you know?"

"But you love him. And he loves you. He said he does. It's just the timing that's been wrong. You both really want it to work this time, right?"

Robin nodded.

"So, I'll tell Dad we're good and you two will start going out again and I'll get back to my life." She stuck out her hand for a high five.

"And what if you change your mind again and decide you want me out of the picture?"

"I won't. Really. You're not really that bad. I'm just scared for him. You've hurt him more than once, you know. Badly. He's told me about some of the other women he's dated, but none of them were ever as important to him as you were. Are."

"And I've never felt the same about anyone else, either. He wasn't the only one who got hurt, Ellie. It just about killed me when we split up. I don't know that I could start again only to have someone tear us apart again."

"I won't. I promise. If I start acting like a brat, remind me what happened this time."

Robin smiled at her. "Okay."

"So, you'll do it?"

"We need to set some ground rules first," the woman answere, pulling a legal pad out of her bag.

"Oh, wow. Channeling Uncle Ted there, Robin."

Robin pointed the pen at her and glared a warning, then started writing.

"Item 1. Barney/Ellie time. Even if I'm back in his life, you still have to be there."

"Okay," she said warily.

"One day a week. The two of you. Spend time together."

"Define 'day.' Are we talking midnight to midnight? Sunup to sundown? 8 hour workday? Because I still have school and it's not exactly fair to take all of one of my weekend days."

"How about 4 hours minimum?"

The girl thought. "That should be fine. We spend a lot of evenings together."

"And that needs to be time interacting, Not just being in the same room, surfing the web or texting your friends, complaining about hanging out with your Dad."

"What are we supposed to do together, then?"

"I don't know. You can play games. Talk. Cook dinner together. Take a class of some kind. You don't have to stay at home."

She sighed, "I suppose we can figure out something."

"Item 2. Barney/Ellie/Robin time."

"What? No way!" Ellie protested.

"Look, Ellie. You are a part of Barney's life. He loves you. He loves me. We both want him to be happy. I think being with the two of us, getting along, will help make him happy. We're going to have to learn to get along."

"So, what? Once a month?"

"Every two weeks. At least 4 hours. Museum. Lazer tag. Something, just the three of us."

"Fine," Ellie acceeded, leaning back in the booth, arms crossed. "What else?"

Robin took a deep breath. This might be the toughest one to get her to agree to.

"You and me."

"No. Way."

"Come on. It won't be that bad. We can get to know each other. Maybe find some common ground, other than just your Dad."

"I can't imagine what."

"We'll find out."

"Once a year?"

"Once a month. You know he'd be thrilled that we're spending time together." Before the girl could comment, she added. "And no, this doesn't count for this month's time."

"What could we possibly do together?"

"I don't know. Throw popcorn at the pigeons in the park. Plot revenge against Jordan Baker. There is no way she should have been given that story. I know so much more about the subject than she does." She looked across the table at Ellie's raised brows. "Maybe take you to the firing range. Teach you how to shoot."

"Really?" the girl brightened.

"If it's okay with your dad, of course."

"Fine."

Robin added it to the list.

"No lying. To each other or about each other. Either one of us has a problem with this, we sit down and talk it over. We don't put Barney in the middle."

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"It was a well thought out plan, though. You set me up like a pro."

Ellie grinned. "Hey. I learned from the best."

"Okay. Your turn. What do you want from me?"

She thought a moment.

"Would you take me to get my ears pierced?"

"You haven't gotten your ears pierced?" Robin asked, leaning across the table to push her hair out of the way. "What's up with that?"

"I know," Ellie agreed.

"Oops," Robin corrected. "I meant, I'm sure your father has an excellent reason for his decision, no matter how incomprehensible it might be to us."

"He says I'm not old enough and it could get infected." She rolled her eyes.

"I can talk to him about it," she promised. "What else?"

Ellie considered. "Birth control."

"No worries. You'll be remaining an only child."

"Good to know, but I meant me."

Robin swallowed hard, trying not to show the shock she was feeling. "Is that an immediate concern?"

"No, not immediate," she confessed. Robin released the breath she had been holding. "But I'm a teenager now and I should probably at least be thinking about it. And my Dad would probably freak out if I brought it up with him."

The older woman studied her for a few moments. "You're right. It's certainly something you should prepare for in advance. When it's time, you need to sit down with your Dad first. I think he might handle it better than you think. I'll be there, too, if you want me to."

"And if he doesn't handle it well?"

"Then you and I will have a long talk about sex and responsibility and protection. Pregnancy is only one small part of the risk."

The girl rolled her eyes.

"And then, I will go with you to the doctor to talk about birth control."

"Even against my father's wishes?"

"Yeah. Your safety and well being are important. Barney might get upset, but in the end, I think he'll see that, too."

"Cool."

"What else?" Robin asked, relieved to be off that subject.

Ellie got a sly look on her face.

"A cat."

"A what?"

"Cat. You know? Small. Furry. Tail. Ears. Whiskers. Says 'meow' a lot."

"You want a cat. In your apartment?"

"No, I want one at the White House," she replied sarcastically. "Yes, I want to have a real, live cat to live with us in the fortress."

"You want to talk about freaking your Dad out," Robin told her, leaning back in her seat.

"I know. That's why I'm enlisting your help."

"Okay. You realize that I can't make promises, but I'd be willing to help you sell the idea."

"That's all I ask."

Robin added Ellie's requests to the notepad, then affixed her signature and the date at the bottom before turning it to let Ellie do the same. She did so with a flourish, then both snapped photos with their phones before Robin tore it off the pad and folded it, then secured it in her purse.

"So, now what?"

Ellie stood up. "Now I have to get back before Dad realizes I'm gone. I'll figure something out and give you a call, probably tomorrow sometime. Just follow my lead."

"I'll be waiting," Robin replied.

The girl headed towards the door. "Bye, Robin. Bye, Lily. Bye, Tracy!" she called.

As she walked out the door, Robin peeked around the end of the high backed booth into the next. Sure enough, Lily and Tracy were scrunched down in the seat, watching her with wide eyes. She got up, moving over to sit across from them. They sat up, straightening themselves. Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Robin held up a finger to forestall her questions. She picked up her phone.

"Did you get all that?"

"Every word," Barney answered. "I think we may need to discuss a few things."

"Later. Ellie's on her way home and I've got a couple of evesdroppers to deal with," she told him.

"They'll be okay. I've still got some 'no questions asked's to call in if need be."

"I'll talk to them. Love you."

"Love you, too," he replied. "Later."

She ended the call and looked at the two women across from her.

"We weren't really evesdropping," Lily protested.

"Not intentionally, anyway," Tracy added.

"We were sitting here, having coffee and we saw Ellie come in," the red-head started.

The other woman picked up the narrative. "Before we could get her attention, you came in."

"After you told us about what happened between the two of you, we were kind of surprised to see the two of you sitting calmly together. We didn't want to interrupt if you two were working things out."

"Yeah, we were evesdropping," Tracy admitted.

Lily shrugged. "Okay. We're nosy bitches." She leaned forward eagerly. "And that certainly sounded quite interesting."

Robin sighed. "When Barney and I started seeing each other again, he knew that she wouldn't be at all happy about it."

"She is pretty protective of Barney," Tracy agreed.

"We decided to keep it under wraps for a while, until we decided whether of not we could really make it work this time."

"And you think you will?" Tracy asked, concern on her face as she reached out and took Robin's hand.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Hopefully," Lily contributed. "So. Ellie."

"Ellie. We knew that she'd figure things out and come up with some way to come between us. We'd let her think she had succeeded, Barney would, as he tends to do, go completely overboard spending time with her. Hanging around her."

"Driving her nuts," Tracy stated, nodding.

"Exactly."

"So that she'd be willing to do almost anything to disctract him," Lily added.

Robin watched them, waiting for their reactions.

"That," Tracy said, "Is brilliant!"

"Sneaky, but brilliant," Lily agreed.

"And we'll never speak of this again?" Robin asked.

The other two looked at each other.

"Speak of what?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Sure enough, Ellie called the next evening. "You ready?"

"Ready when you are. What do I need to do?"

"Just come on over and follow my lead. Oh, and bring a shopping bag."

"Bag of what?"

"Doesn't matter. One of those reusable ones. Something in it. Not too big or heavy. Dad won't look at what's in it."

"Got it. On my way," Robin replied. She grabbed her purse and a canvas bag, stuffing a sweater in it to give it some bulk. Within a few minutes, shse was on her way to the Stinson apartment.

When she knocked at the door, Barney pulled it opened and looked at her in confusion.

"Robin. What are you doing here?"

"Ellie called and asked me to come."

At that moment, the girl came rushing into the room.

"Robin! You came!" She crossed the room and threw her arms around Robin.

"Of course."

"And you brought the..." she glanced at her Dad. "Stuff," she finished, glancing in the shopping bag.

"What 'stuff'?" Barney asked, trying to peek over her shoulder.

Ellie slammed the bag closed and pushed him back.

"Just something I need."

He put his hands on her shoulders. "If you needed something, Ellie, I would have taken you to the store to get it. Or gone for you. You know you can ask me for anything."

"I started my period, Dad. I needed some pads."

"Your period?" Barney asked, his face going pale. "Like...blood coming out of your...um.."

"Thanks for coming, Robin. I tried to call Lily, but she was busy with something and Tracy didn't answer and I just didn't know who else to call. I didn't know if you'd even answer after all the horrible things I said to you."

"Of course I came," Robin replied. "We women have to stick together."

"Thanks, Robin," Barney told her, still looking a bit pasty.

Ellie grabbed Robin's hand and pulled her towards the bathroom. "Come on." Once they were in the bathroom, Ellie locked the door and sat down on the closed toilet while Robin perched on the side of the bathtub.

"So. Period, huh?"

"Yeah. Figured Dad wouldn't ask too many questions about that."

"You have discovered one of the great secrets of womanhood, young one," Robin told her with a grin.

Ellie grinned back.

"Do you reallly need any...stuff.?" The woman asked. "Have you actually...started...you know?"

"I'm fine," the gurl assured her with a nonchalant wave. "Daisy took me to get supplies and stuff so I was all ready when I started a few months back."

"But you didn't tell your Dad."

"Um. No. He's not exactly a fan of me growing up."

There was a light tap at the door. "Is everything okay?" Barney called.

Robin crossed over and opened the door a crack. "She's okay," she told him with a smile and a wink. His eyes widened, then he nodded his understanding. "Is is okay to give her some Midol?"

"Some what?"

"It's for cramping and stuff. I bought some, but I didn't want to give it to her without getting your permission first," she explained. "She doesn't have any allergies or anything does she?"

He shook his head. "No. No allergies. If it will help, go ahead and give it to her."

"Okay. We'll be out in a little bit," she told him, easing the door closed.

She resumed her seat. "Nice touch with the Midol," Ellie told her.

"Figured to drive the point home," Robin shrugged.

They talked for several more minutes before leaving the room to join a concerned looking Barney.

"Is it okay if she stays for dinner?" Ellie asked her Dad, eyes wide.

"Sure. If you don't have other plans for the evening?" he agreed, looking to the brunette.

She shrugged. "No plans. And I never turn down food, especially food I don't have to cook."

After dinner, the three cleaned up, then settled on the sofa to watch a movie. Ellie curled up at one end, forcing Robin to take the middle between her and Barney. After a time, the girl appeared to doze off. She shifted her position, pushing her feet against the woman next to her. When Robin moved a little, Ellie pushed against her again.

Barney looked over. "Is she bothering you?"

"No. I think she just needs a little more room," Robin told him.

"You can scoot a little closer this way," he replied, putting his arm beind her on the sofa. She felt Ellie's foot press against her again as she did so.

After several more minutes, Robin glanced over to see her peeking at her.

She nodded towards Barney, then stared at her meaningfully. Robin shook her head slightly, not understanding. Again, she nodded towards her father, then closed her eyes and leaned her head into the cushion next to her.

Ah.

Robin slowly allowed her eyes to drift closed as the movie progressed, then relaxed, letting her head loll sideways coming to rest on Barney's shoulder. She felt a low rumble of silent laughter shake his chest as he wrapped his arm around her. They remained that way for a couple of hours. Finally, Ellie stretched, making a show of waking up and looking around.

"Wow. Midnight. Bedtime."

Robin sat up as well. "Yeah, I should probably head home," she told the other two, strethching. "As soon as I go the the bathroom."

When she left the room, Ellie scooted over next to her dad. "You should take her out tomorrow night." She glanced at the clock. "Tonight, actually. How about that new restaurant you were talking about the other day?"

Barney looked at her in surprise. "You want me to ask her out? What about the the whole not liking kids thing? Boarding school?"

Ellie looked a little embarrassed. "I may have kind of exaggerated the boarding school thing," she admitteed. At his look, the corrected. "Or really exaggerated it. And we talked about the kid thing. It's not that she doesn't like kids, she just never wanted any, but I'm not really a kid anymore, so that's not an issue. We're good. You should really ask her out,."

He studied her, considering. "I don't know. I really care about her. Really love her. But I love you. You're my daughter. You are the most important thing in my life. Time spent with her is time that I don't get to spend with you."

"I know, dad," she told him. "And I love all the time we've been spending together, but I really think it's important for both of us to have other people in our lives, too. I'm going to have to get out in the real world sometime and I need to know how to function on my own. How to make friends and interact with people."

"True. As a parent, I'm supposed to be equipping you for the future, aren't I?" She nodded.

"And it's not like we'd never spend time together. We'll definitely still make sure to spend some one on one time, right?"

He nodded.

"Maybe even the three of us can hang out together some. I really kind of enjoyed tonight," she told him with a smile.

"So, you'd be okay with it?"

"Okay with what?" Robin asked, coming back into the room.

"The two of us going out tonight," he told her.

She looked at Ellie, who nodded. "Sounds like fun," she told him.

"I'm going to walk her down to get a cab," Barney told her. "You'll be okay for a few minutes?"

"Yeah. I'm going to turn in," she told him with a yawn.

She hugged her dad, siad good-bye to Robin, then headed back to her room. Barney and Robin got her stuff and left. When they got into the elevator, he pressed her against the wall, his lips claiming hers as his hands slipped under her shirt.

"I have missed you," he mumbled against her neck.

"Likewise," she agreed, running her fingers through his hair.

When the doors opened on the ground floor, they reluctantly parted and walked out the front door to hail a cab.

"Dinner tonight?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him again.

"Your place?" he replied, "I'll bring takeout and we can figure out something to do with the rest of out evening," he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I like the way you think, Stinson," she told him.

"Among other things."

XXXXXXXXX

Robin and Ellie both held up their ends of the agreement. As the months passed, they spent time apart, time together with Barney, and time together with just the two of them.

They did discover some mutual interests.

Ellie got her ears pierced. Twice.

After a class on gun safety, Barney joined them on a visit to the gun range. Though he never enjoyed it as much as they did, he went with them sometimes just for the joy of watching them.

A cat by the name of Cleopatra came to live with Robin, slowly working her way into Barney's affections, then into his home, since Robin was spending so much time there.

Ellie also smiled happily when the two remarried. It was a small, family affair in the Mosby back yard, officiated by Judge Marshall and followed by a cookout.

Robin cried as much as Barney did when they sent her off to college in California and when they watched her cross the stage to accept her degree.

Ellie and Robin walked hand in hand in a sea of pink clad women and men (though both refused to wear pink) when Robin joined the 1 year survivors team. Barney joined them when she hit 5.

Robin stood in the dressing room of the church, straightening Ellie's dress and doing a final check of her hair and makeup as they waited for Barney to arrive to walk her down the aisle.

"Okay?"

"Perfect," Robin told her, dabbing a tear from her own eye.

Ellie gazed at her stepmother with a smile.

"You know, Robin, I've never been so glad to have been played."

Robin cocked her head and looked at the other woman.

"Back when you and my dad started seeing each other again? I pulled that stunt to make him choose between the two of us?"

"Yeah. I vaguely remember."

"Whatever. Suddenly, dad was by my side practically 24/7."

"Seems that would be a bit annoying."

"Extremely so," the younger woman responded. "Annoying enough for me to have some serious second thoughts about having you back in his life."

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm sure glad you did," Robin told her, turning her attention back to fussing with the dress.

"Yeah. I'm a little embarrassed at how long it took me to realize that that had been the plan all along."

Robin glanced up at her out of the corner of her eye. She thought for a moment, finally deciding there was no use denying it. "How did you feel about it?"

"I was pissed. For about ten seconds."

Robin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then, I decided it was hilarious. I had thought myself so very clever, only to be schooled by a couple of true masters."

"Well, in all fairness, you were only thirteen. We had a whole lot more experience at it than you did."

Ellie shrugged. "Like I said, I realized it was probably the best thing that happened to me. You've not only made my dad happy, you've made me happy, too."

"Good," Robin smiled, patting her cheek. "Because, even though you weren't a part of the life I had imagined with Barney, you made it even better."

"You know what, Robin?" Ellied asked.

"Yeah. I'm an idiot?"

"Yeah, you are."

"Know what else?"

"I'm an idiot, too," the bride answered.

"You're an idiot, too."


End file.
